Two Men in a Boat

Fabiano Caruana – Magnus Carlsen

Freestyle Chess Summit; match game 2; time control: 60 minutes plus 30 seconds per move; Singapore, November 22, 2024

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Position #180

1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. c5 h5 4. h4 Nf6 5. g3 g6 6. Nb3 Ng4 7. Nd3 Bf5 8. f3 Nh6 9. Bg5 Nc7 10. 0-0-0 Ne6 11. Bd2 Bxd3 12. Bxd3 Nf5 13. e3 b6!? If 13. ... Nxg3 then 14. Qh3⩲ regaining the Pawn with the better game. But Carlsen, even at risk of error, prefers a messy vitality.
14. f4 Nh6 15. Kb1 Ng4 16. Qf3 Qf6 17. Rc1!? 17. cxb6 axb6 18. Rc1 seems to be more consonant with what White aimed for.
17. ... bxc5 18. Nxc5 Nxc5 19. Rxc5

19. ... e5! An intriguing resource, which may have been overlooked (or not well appreciated in its details) by Caruana when he played his 17. Rc1.
20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Rgc1 Bxb2 22. Rxc6 Ne5 23. Rxf6 Nxf3 24. Kxb2 Nxd2 25. Rc7 0-0! A providential “short” castling on the h-side, which allows Black, at the cost of a Pawn, to liquidate into a very drawish Rook endgame.
26. f5 Ne4 27. Bxe4 dxe4 28. fxg6 Rd2+ 29. Kc1 Rd3 30. gxf7+ Kg7 31. Rf4 Rxe3 32. g4 hxg4 33. Rxg4+ Kf6 34. h5 Rf3 35. Rxe4 Rxf7 36. Rxf7+ Kxf7 37. Ra4 Rc3+ 38. Kd2 Rc7 39. Ra6 Kg7 40. Kd3 Kh7 41. a4 Rf7 42. Ke4 Rg7 43. Kd5 Rf7 44. Re6

44. ... Rf4? The only thrill in an otherwise planned and scheduled space cruise for rich people only. There was only one move to draw, and was not a difficult one to find! In fact, 44. ... a5!= saves the day in all variations; for example: 45. h6 Rf4 46. Re4 Rxe4 47. Kxe4 Kxh6 48. Kd5 Kg5 49. Kc5 Kf6 50. Kb5 Ke7 51. Kxa5 Kd8 52. Kb6 Kc8 with a book draw.
45. a5 Rf5+ 46. Re5 Rf6 47. Re7+!? There’s nothing wrong with this move, but it makes things less easy for White. 47. Rg5+− appears to be much stronger, for if 47. ... Kh6? then there would follow 48. Rg6+! forcing a won Pawn ending.
47. ... Kg8

48. Rxa7? A strange mistake which re-evokes — with reversed colours — the ending of the game Botvinnik – R. J. Fischer, 15th Chess Olympiad, Varna 1962, in which Fischer played right into his opponent’s hands, or to say it with the words of Botvinnik, “Now Black is left with two RP’s and the draw becomes a question of theory”. Instead, as scientifically shown by the tablebases, White had five winning moves to choose from (48. Ke4, 48. Re5, 48. Re6, 48. Re8+, and 48. Kd4).
48. ... Rf5+ 49. Kc4 Kh8 50. a6 Rf6 51. Kd4 Rc6 52. Ke4 Rf6 53. Ke5 Rc6 54. Kf5 Rb6 55. Kg5 Rc6 56. Kf5 Rd6 57. Ke5 Rc6 58. Ra8+ Kh7 59. Kd5 Rf6 60. Kc5 Rf5+ 61. Kd6 Rf6+ 62. Ke7 Rc6 63. Ra7 Kh8 64. Kf7 Rb6 65. Ke8 Rd6 66. Ra8 Kh7 67. Ke7 Rc6 68. Ke8 Rd6 69. Ke7 Rc6 70. Kd7 Rf6 71. h6 Rxh6 72. Ra7 Kg8 73. Kc7 Rf6 74. Ra8+ Kg7 75. Rf8 Rxf8 76. a7 Rf7+ 77. Kb6 Rxa7 78. Kxa7 ½–½.